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Still I Rise (Stanzas (Stanza 5 (Literary Devices (Symbol (Gold mines in…

- - - - Symbol
        
        Gold mines in the gold industry symbolize wealth, richness and power. The reason why the poet, Maya Angelou stated “Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines, Diggin’ in my own backyard” is because she wanted the audience to know that she is still able to keep herself positively and proud like the wealthy even when people were trying to put her down.
      - Rhetorical Question
        
        The poet uses rhetorical questions in the poem “Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard” to satirize the oppressors as she already knows the answer. The poet uses the power of literature to taunt the oppressors even when she was suffering from them.
      - Tone
        
        Just like stanza 2, the poem uses a more humorous and sarcastic tone to finish stanza 5 in order to set off her sassiness and hauntiness. The switches of the tone allowed the audience to be more attached to the poem as they will feel a sense of confidence while they are reading it.
    - - The fifth stanza of the poem presented how confident the poet is once again. In the first and second line of the fifth stanza, the poet taunted the oppressors by asking the rhetorical question, “Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard”. The poet was being sarcastic by mocking how the oppressors were enraged by the poet as her self-respect would never be demolished by any type of oppression. The third and fourth line of the fifth stanza also shows us that the poet will never be affected by other comments as she is always proud of who she is.
  - - - Repetition
        
        The repetition of “But still, like dust, I'll rise.” by the end of every stanza emphasizes how tenacious the poet is as she is able to rise no matter how many dampens she has experienced. The repetition of the specific line indirectly tells the audiences about the strength of the poet by showing how she is still able to face the opposition and attempting over and over again.
      - Hyperbole
        
        In the sixth stanza of the poem, the poet uses hyperbole to exaggerate the verbal and mental attack that she experiences from her oppressors, the white. In the poem, the poet likens the critical comments that have been spoken by the white to the bullet. Just like bullets, words are often powerful and hurtful if you use it to attack another. Other than that, the poet also exaggerates the way the people gaze at her and that can even cut and hurt her as they often feel that mentallly destructive. Last but not least, the poet exaggerated about how the hatefulness of the external can kill her. The reason why she exaggerated the sentence is because most of the people who experienced racism often feel destructive and hyperbole allows them to set off the messages of the stanza.
    - - In the first, second and third lines of the sixth stanza, the poet was informing the oppressors that they could do whatever they wanted to her such as verbally attacking her, glaring at her and mentally torturing her. However, the poet wouldn’t be defeated by any of their actions. Instead, the poet would confront their criticism and rise for herself.
  - - - Rhetorical Question
        
        Just like stanza 2, the poet uses rhetorical questions to state the points that don't require any answer. The poet presented the poem in the first person, the colored and she is asking the questions that she already knows.
      - Hyperbole
        
        The poet uses hyperbole to describe what the oppressors wanted her to be like in stanza 4 for emphasising and satirizing the aggressiveness of the oppressors. In contrast, the poet also sets off how pitiful she was by exaggerating what she was experiencing.
    - - In the fourth stanza of the poem, the poet expressed how the public wanted her to be self-abased and sink into degradation after all the pressures of the public opinion. The oppressors, the whites, wanted her to break into pieces and bow down to them. The poet even exaggerated the situation by stating that they even wanted her “Shoulders falling down like teardrops”.
  - - - Rhetorical Question
        
        Just like the second and fifth stanzas, the poet uses rhetorical questions to satirize the oppressor by asking them if her body upset them. It indirectly taunted the white as how her skin color interfered with them. She will still be able to live happily and shine for herself when people hated her for stupid reason.
      - Simile
        
        Diamonds are often dazzle and gorgeous. The reason why the poet liken herself to diamonds is because she wanted to tell her oppressors that no matter how hard they are trying to drag her down, she is always able to live a glorious life, just like diamonds.
    - - In the seventh stanza of the poem, the poem once showed her confidence against all the haters again. The seventh stanza started off with “Does my sexiness upset you?” and it is interpreting the audiences that the poet is satisfied with herself including her skin colour and her physical appearance. The rest of the stanza is telling the audiences about how the poet’s action presented her confidence.
  - - - Imagery
        
        Again, the poet created a tenacious image of her by giving us the image of a plant. This allows us to imagine how a plant survives under the moons and suns with a certainty of tides. It is harsh but the plant withstands the challenges and rises with its determination just like the poet, Maya Angelou did.
      - Simile
        
        The reason why the poet compared herself with plants is because plants are indomitable and it often carries on a tenacious struggle against natural calamity. The reason why the poet liken the critical comments forces to moons, suns and tides is because these factors are often powerful and we might be destroyed by them. This reflected on how harsh the condition was to the black and how indomitable the poet is and she is still able to rise under these harsh conditions.
    - - In the third stanza of the poem, the poet is comparing herself with nature. She likened herself to a plant. The poet reflected herself as a plant. A plant often has a tenacious image as it has to suffer through a lot of natural factors including weather and tides in order to survive. The poet presented her indestructible by comparing herself with plants in this case as she will still be able to spring high and rise despite there being so many powerful forces oppressing her.
  - - - Consonance
        
        The poet uses consonance such as “Out of the huts of history’s shame” and “Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.” to create a rhythm in the stanza.
    - - The poet is talking about the African American slavery era in this stanza. From the first and third sentence of the stanza, the poet expressed the harsh time of the colored back then. However, she rises out of the huts of history’s shame and rises up from the past that’s rooted in pain. She is becoming stronger like a black ocean. Her thought will infiltrate into everyone like surging tides.
  - - - The second stanza of the poem presented the humor of the poet even when she is suffering during the harsh time. The stanza showed the positive attitude of the poet as no one will be able to affect her psychologically and emotionally. From the first and second line in the second stanza, the poet did not take the oppressor entirely seriously and even tease them sarcastically. The third and fourth line of the second stanza also shows us how confident and strong she is by telling us that she can act like a wealthy person and she loves who she is.
    - - Tone
        
        Instead of having too much of aggressive and negative contents, the poet switched the atmosphere of the poem by writing the stanza in a humorous but sarcastic tone. It fully sets off the essence of the stanza as the lively atmosphere presented the confidence and sassiness of the poet.
      - Rhetorical Question
        
        Rhetorical question allows the poet to state a message by asking a question that isn't required to be answered.
      - Symbol
        
        Oil wells often symbolize wealth as most of our technologies rely on oil which is a non-renewable resource and this made it valuable.
  - - - Repetition
        
        The repetition of “I rise” emphasizes the unshakable faith of the poet. In the poem, the poet repeated the word “I rise” as she wanted the audience to know that she keeps rising no matter how many things or people are there to frustrate her.
      - Rhyme
        
        The poet uses a rhyme scheme of abab ccbbb to finish the last stanza in order to create a flow when reading it out.
    - - In the last stanza of the poem, the poet decided to look forward to a bright future with the given chance by her ancestors. She is the dream and the hope of the slave. She has to live proudly with what she possesses. She will leave all the fear and pain that she was experiencing back. She will rise for herself to become a better human being instead of compromising to racism.
  - - - In the first stanza of the poem, the poet started with how no one will be able to defeat her with any word or action. In the poem, the poem states that no matter how the external vilifies her, she will still be able to ignore and rise like dust, humble but tenacious.
    - - Metaphor
        
        In the first stanza of the poem, the poet links herself to dust. The reason why she compared herself to dust is because she wanted to show how insignificant and humble she is in society. However, she is tenacious like a dust at the same time.
      - Imagery
        
        The poet used concrete imagery in the first stanza of the poem in order to create images for the audience specifically the white. In the first two sentences of the poem, the poet was satirizing the white by creating an image of how the white used to discredit the black and prick their conscience. The third line of the poem even created an humble image of the colored.
- - - - The repetitive message in the poem “I rise” emphasizes the unshakable faith of the poet. The poet repeated the word “I ride” as she wanted the audience to know that her rising is inevitable, irresistible, unstoppable. In other words, the poet emphasizes how tenacious the poet is by her persistent spirit. She rises no matter how many dampens she has experienced and this repetition indirectly tells the audiences that the character is still able to face the opposition and attempting over and over again.
    - - The poet used concrete imagery in the poem in order to create images for the audience specifically the white. In the first stanza of the poem, the poet created an image of how the white used to discredit the black. The purpose of this action is to prick the white’s conscience. Also, the poet created a tenacious image of her by giving us the image of a plant surviving under harsh conditions. However, the plant ended up overcoming the challenges like the poet, Maya Angelou did. The poet provided two images from different perspectives in order to create a contrast effect of them.
    - - In the poem, the poet uses rhetorical questions to state the points that don't require any answer. The poet presented the poem in the first person, the colored and she is asking the questions that she already knows. These rhetorical questions satirize the oppressor by asking them if her body upset them. It indirectly taunted the white as how her skin color interfered with them. She will still be able to live happily and shine for herself when people hated her for stupid reason.